Strand Lane 'Roman Baths'

The lowdown

Hidden down a forgotten lane near the Strand is a small brick plunge pool that for two centuries was advertised as an ancient Roman bath, even getting a mention in a Dickens novel. The romantic claim was almost certainly invented to draw paying visitors, and historians now think it is most likely a Tudor or Stuart cistern.

Either way it is a genuinely old and atmospheric survivor, fed by a spring and cared for by the National Trust. You can peer in for free through a window onto the lit chamber any time, a strange little time capsule tucked away just yards from the modern bustle of the Strand.